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February 4, 2002
TAMPA -- After four years of drought, rainfall amounts around Florida were close to normal this past summer, giving firefighters and homeowners hope that this year's wildfire season won't be too bad.
"I'm more optimistic than last year," said Jim Karels, the state Division of Forestry's fire chief. "This time last year, we were deep into it already. Most of the state is a little bit better off."
Wildfire season generally begins in January, peaks in May and continues until the summer thunderstorms start rolling in, along with hurricane season, in June.
As this year's fire season gets under way, only 10 counties are in the extreme range of the drought index, compared with about 20 this time last year.
Manatee County is the state's driest. It is at 595 on the drought scale, with 800 being the driest.